In the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM), the race for Speaker of Parliament is usually decided long before Members of Parliament ever cast their votes.
This time, however, the outcome appears less settled. Shortly after the Electoral Commission declared President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni the winner of the January 2026 presidential election, the NRM’s top decision-making body, the Central Executive Committee (CEC), moved quickly to endorse Anita Annet Among as Speaker and Thomas Tayebwa as Deputy Speaker for the incoming 12th Parliament.
But what is normally a routine endorsement has sparked a wave of quiet resistance within the ruling party. Some party members have questioned the decision to effectively ring-fence the two most powerful positions in Parliament without allowing open competition. Others have gone further, demanding to see a formal, signed resolution from the CEC confirming the endorsement.
The discontent has opened a rare window of contestation inside a party that has long maintained tight control over parliamentary leadership. Richard Todwong, the Secretary General of the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM), revealed recently that President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, the party’s national chairperson, has formally approved the Central Executive Committee’s decision to endorse Among and Tayebwa as the party’s preferred candidates for Speaker and Deputy Speaker of the 12th Parliament.
The endorsement, Todwong said, clears the way for the two leaders to be presented before the NRM parliamentary caucus for formal adoption, a crucial step before the new Parliament convenes.
By backing the pair, the party leadership appears determined to avoid a divisive internal contest over the top parliamentary positions. Todwong explained that the move is meant to preserve unity within the ruling party ahead of the speakership race. He added that other NRM members who had earlier expressed interest in the positions have been asked to step aside to allow the party to rally behind a single ticket.
CHALLENGERS STEP FORWARD
Several Members of Parliament-elect have since declared their intention to challenge Among for the speakership. The list of contenders includes Bukono County MP Persis Namuganza, a member of the NRM; Democratic Party President General Norbert Mao; Aringa South MP Alion Yorke Odria; Lydia Wanyoto, an NRM Central Executive Committee member and MP-elect for Mbale City; and Masindi District Woman MP Florence Asiimwe Akiiki. For Mao, the race represents an opportunity to revisit leadership arrangements that he believes were shaped by circumstance rather than deliberate choice.
“After consulting many people, particularly the electorate, namely the incoming Honourable Members of the 12th Parliament, and receiving messages of support and encouragement, I hereby announce my candidacy for Speaker of the 12th Parliament,” Mao said last month.
He pointed to the circumstances surrounding the rise of the current Speaker following the death of Jacob Oulanyah in March 2022. “We lost the late Speaker Jacob Oulanyah in March 2022, so we got an accidental Speaker because nobody plans for death,” Mao said.
“It was not supposed to be like that, but now there is an opportunity.”
AMONG HOLDS HER GROUND
Despite the growing list of challengers, Speaker Among has shown little sign of wavering. Speaking during a Parliament Iftar dinner on January 27, the same day Museveni was declared president-elect, she dismissed the criticism surrounding her candidacy and insisted she remains focused on retaining the speakership.
“No noise will stop us from being the leaders we shall be,” Among said. “At this time of Ramadan, we should be united.”
She also defended the record of her leadership alongside Tayebwa, citing major legislative achievements such as the passage of the Anti-Homosexuality Act. “When I see people attacking me and my Deputy Speaker, I wonder whether they understand this period, Ramadan for Muslims and Lent for Christians,” she said. “When I hear such attacks coming from Christians, I really wonder.”
THE SHADOW OF AMONG SANCTIONS
Yet the political contest unfolding in Kampala cannot be separated from the international pressure surrounding Among’s leadership. Over the past two years, the Speaker has faced sanctions from several Western governments over alleged corruption and misuse of public resources.
On May 30, 2024, the United States sanctioned Among and several Ugandan officials over corruption and alleged gross human rights violations. Similar sanctions followed from the United Kingdom and the United Arab Emirates. The measures have had visible consequences.
Among has reportedly missed several major international engagements, including the Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference in Sydney, Commonwealth Day celebrations, and other global parliamentary events. Diplomatic pressure has quietly followed.
Sources say some European envoys have urged the Ugandan government to consider alternative leadership for the next Parliament, arguing that maintaining the current Speaker could damage the institution’s international standing.
Analysts say President Museveni’s decision to retain Among in the speakership race sends a strong signal that she remains aligned with the interests of the ruling National Resistance Movement, despite pressure from the international community.
The sanctions imposed on Among, analysts argue, appear to have had limited impact on her political standing at home. Instead, the decision is seen as a message to Museveni’s loyalists that the President is willing to shield key allies within his political camp. At the same time, the situation could buy time for Tayebwa to strengthen his engagement with the international community.
As Deputy Speaker, Tayebwa is expected to play a more visible diplomatic role even while serving under Among, who currently cannot travel widely or transact on many financial networks. Some members of the international community had anticipated that sanctions might weaken Among’s grip on the speakership.
However, Museveni’s decision to back her again suggests he was not ready to drop her from the position at this stage. Some analysts believe the pressure could instead influence leadership decisions in the next Parliament.
The sanctions imposed on Among are expected to limit her participation in several key international engagements. Among is likely to miss the Sixth World Conference of Speakers of Parliament scheduled for July in Geneva, Switzerland, as well as the 15th Summit of Women Speakers of Parliament and the 69th Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference to be held in South Africa, among others. Sanctions can also trigger financial and logistical restrictions.
International banks often close accounts linked to sanctioned individuals, while global payment services such as Visa may suspend card services. In some cases, communication services and local and international transactions can also be affected, further limiting the ability of sanctioned individuals to operate across borders.
REGIONAL SUPPORT AND PARTY CONFIDENCE
Despite the external criticism, Among has continued to consolidate support within the country. Several regional legislators have publicly endorsed her candidacy, including Bungokho North MP-elect Shafiga Wanyenya, Kanyum County MP-elect Simon Peter Opolot Okwalinga, Mwenge Central MP-elect Kasukaali Methusela, and a group of 12 MPs from the Tooro sub-region.
Deputy Speaker Thomas Tayebwa has also expressed confidence that the ruling party will ultimately control the outcome. Speaking at the send-off of Noreda Bangirana, the mother of State Minister for Health Anifa Kawooya, in Rukiga District, Tayebwa dismissed suggestions that the opposition could capture the top parliamentary posts.
“I am 100 percent sure the NRM government and the NRM party will produce the Speaker and Deputy Speaker of the 12th Parliament,” he said.
Referring to Mao’s bid, Tayebwa added that it would be politically unrealistic for a ruling party to surrender such positions to a non-member.
“If Mao were President, he would not give the positions of Speaker and Deputy Speaker to a non-member of his party,” he said.
“It would be suicidal for your party to field a non-member. That is non- negotiable.”
A PARLIAMENT UNDER SCRUTINY
For some observers, however, the question of who becomes Speaker may be less consequential than the broader state of Uganda’s legislature. Godber Tumushabe, associate director at the Great Lakes Institute for Strategic Studies, argues that the deeper challenges facing Parliament go far beyond personalities.
“In the current state Parliament is in, whoever becomes Speaker, regardless of academic qualifications, will have no significant impact,” he said.
“It is a House where elites sit to connive and steal from Ugandans. It is a crime scene of corruption and does not work for Ugandans.”
In his view, the ultimate decision will depend less on parliamentary debate than on political endorsement from the country’s most powerful figure.
“No candidate can succeed without endorsement from President Museveni,” Tumushabe said.
A TEST OF POWER
As the 12th Parliament prepares to convene, the speakership race is shaping into something more than a routine leadership vote. It has exposed tensions within the ruling party, drawn in opposition figures seeking an unlikely opening, and attracted attention from diplomats watching Uganda’s political direction.
Whether those forces translate into a genuine contest, or ultimately give way to the familiar logic of party discipline, may reveal how much political space truly exists inside Uganda’s Parliament. For now, the race is on, and the question lingering in Kampala is simple: Will the outcome be decided in the chamber, or long before the vote is ever taken?
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